(Bloomberg) -- The Biden Administration’s energy envoy reiterated that the U.S. stands ready to release more crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if the need arises.

“I think we wanted to do something that was impactful for the market and that also had the ability and the flexibility to allow us to do that again should the need arise for the American economy,” U.S. State Department Senior Advisor Amos Hochstein told CNBC Monday. 

The statement comes just days before OPEC and its allies will meet to discuss their response to the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The group seems increasingly inclined to suspend its plan to raise oil output as the new variant triggered oil’s worst crash in over a year last week.

OPEC+ was due to add another 400,000 barrels a day in January as they gradually revive output halted during the pandemic last year.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.